Back from the ranch

We are home now from our most excellent Camp Meeting, where we enjoyed some wonderful Gospel preaching, fellowship, and fun. You can throw a little mud in there, too, but it didn’t detract from any of the rest. The Lord saw it fit to put us in a bubble for two days, as it rained all around our camp, and all over Texas, but not on US until the preaching was over. It finally rained Saturday night after our evening service, so we got to have three services outside. It really was amazing to hear the birds singing, the goats bleating (or is it meh-ing?), and have a big hound dog rolling over at your feet while you hear a sermon. To be surrounded by green trees and grass as you sing praise to God, who created it all, is truly awesome. If you ever get the opportunity to attend outdoor gospel services, don’t pass it up!

While we were gone, the chickens apparently had a growth spurt. They are huge! I’m sure they didn’t grow any more than when we were home, but being gone for just three days was a shock! We lost one of our banties over the weekend, too, which was found by our friend/neighbor who so generously fed and checked on them. We aren’t sure why, but hoping it was an isolated incident and won’t happen again!

The sad part of our trip was visiting my granddad, who has been in the hospital for weeks, and sharing what will likely be our last time together. He was my first fishing buddy, and was a huge positive influence in my childhood, for which I will always be thankful. We’ve had a few rough times, too, but they are greatly outnumbered by the good ones, and memories I will always treasure. This loss will be a hard one, and a new one for the kids, as it is the first they will experience at an age they will feel the impact. They have experienced the loss of brothers and sisters in the church, with whom they were not very close, and relatives that we seldom saw, but not any of their grandparents, so it will be rough. When my mother passed away, they were too young to understand anything but the balloon release, really, and I’m really thankful for that. It will be a new experience, but one of many to come in life.

That being said, our next week or two is rather up in the air at this point. We are preparing for cleaning, unpacking, and getting some things done at home, then rolling with the punches. I guess that’s how it always is, just more definite now. At the moment, though, Craig and I are off to bed to relax and watch a movie. Ah, rest.